IT Professionals and Assisted in the Presentation of $33,000 in Grants During IT Conference on September 30th at Memphis Hilton

Miss Tennessee Hannah Robison

Memphis, TN -- September 30, 2015-Miss Tennessee, Hannah Robison, served as the keynote lunch speaker at the 29th Annual Strategy Series for Executives hosted by SIM Memphis. This premier IT conference took place on Wednesday, September 30th at the Hilton Memphis. Robison spoke about her passion for STEM education and assisted the SIM Memphis Chapter members with the distribution of grants totaling $33,000 to theBoys & Girls Club of Memphis, Teen Tech Camp, U.S. FIRST Robotic (Shelby County Schools) and U.S. FIRST Robotic (White Station).Additional funds will be donated to local SIM chapter member development grants throughout the year.Over their 29 year history, the Strategy Series has funded an estimated$433,000 in community outreach, STEM grants, and learning experiences for students in the Memphis and Mid-South area.

Miss Tennessee poses with area students whose organizations received grants

Robison recently competed in the Miss America competition that aired on ABC on September 13th and placed among the top seven finalists. She is a senior at The University of Tennessee at Martin pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry with a minor in Psychology. Robison spoke about her love of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), which is why she has chosen to be a promoter of STEM Education throughout her year of service. As a Chemistry major and an advocate for STEM, Hannah helped launch STEM programs in several Tennessee counties this year. At UTM, she's been on the Dean's List, a recipient of the HOPE Scholarship for four years, has worked on Organic Chemistry Research projects under a UTM Professor, she's a member of the American Chemical Society and The National Society of Leadership and Success and was honored with the UTM Chancellor's Ambassador Award for academics and service. In addition, Hannah has traveled to each of the Children's Miracle Network (CMN) hospitals across the state of Tennessee, science experiment in hand, promoting her "STEM Day at CMN".

The Annual Strategy Series for Executives was designed to explore leadership and strategy among the 250 expected IT executives representing over 80 of the region's top IT organizations. During the event, Jana Branham, CIO of ACH Food Companies,was namedthe SIM Memphis Chapter 2015 Leader of the Year.

The Miss America Organization is one of the largest providers of scholarships to women in the world. Each year the organization offers millions in scholarships to its competitors. The Miss America Foundation's education mission advocates for STEM education as they offer academic and community-based scholarships for young women who choose science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields in all levels of education.

For more information about the 29th Annual Strategy Series for Executives hosted by SIM Memphis, visit www.MemphisStrategy.com.

About SIM Memphis

Established in 1968, the Society for Information Management (SIM) is the premier network for IT leaders comprised of over 4,100 members including CIOs, CTOs, senior IT executives, prominent academicians, and foremost consultants. SIM is a community of thought leaders who share experiences; apply rich intellectual capital and who explore future IT direction. Through its 33 regional chapters, SIM provides resources and programs inspired by IT leaders for IT leaders that enable CIOs to further develop their leadership capabilities and those of the emerging leaders in their organizations.

The Memphis Chapter of SIM is a professional society of local IT leaders organized to keep members informed regarding new information technologies, ideas and techniques, as well as projects and activities of interest within the individual members on issues and projects directly related to information systems; and strengthen the recognition and status of the information systems profession within the community and with local organizations. Since1988, Memphis SIM has provided resources and programs designed to promote technology education in local institutions. These programs include an annual week long Teen Tech Camp which is conducted each summer in partnership with the Memphis Public Library, IT Career Day for college students, funding for SIM-sponsored educational programs at the STAX Music Academy, and SIM IT scholarship programs at both the University of Memphis and Lemoyne-Owen College. For more information please visit www.simnet.org